Northern Song Dynasty Justice

Chapter 38 He Won Again
On the cusp of this storm, a small stone may also be able to stir up a stormy sea.

Wang Anshi has always believed that these rich and unkind landlords are the moths of the country. Now that he is involved in this case, and Zhang Fei is making trouble below, how can he let go of this opportunity.

He can also use this to accumulate political capital, because Li Siyi's case happened to involve the core content of his reform, and he can use this to promote his ideas and gain more support from the DPRK and China.

Therefore, he criticized usury in the court, and at the same time asked for the forgiveness of Li Si and Zeng's crimes, and severely punished Chen Yuteng.

When he made a fuss, things got complicated.

If there is no Wang Anshi, the officials can still "understand" each other. With Chen Yuteng's family background, it will not be so troublesome. The reason is very simple. Most people's buttocks are not clean. Of course, I hope that the matter can be settled.

This is a political tacit understanding.

But when Wang Anshi made trouble at the top, the officials below did not dare to act rashly, for fear of getting burned. At present, Wang Anshi is a very popular and important minister in the court, and he is highly regarded by Shenzong.

It is said that a dead friend does not die a poor one.

But at present, Kaifeng government bears all the pressure.

From the emperor's important ministers to the landlords and common people, all stared at Kaifeng Mansion.

The magistrate Lu Gong knew very well the stakes, so he dared not be negligent. They first sent people to arrest Chen Yuteng, Zeng and others, and then asked Li Kai, the second-in-command of the Kaifeng government, to go in person to ask for a statement and investigate the case.

Logically speaking, in this kind of contract dispute case, it is impossible for the second in command of the Kaifeng Mansion to ask for a statement.

"Prefect Lu."

"What did you find?"

When Lu Gong saw Li Kai coming, he immediately put down the copy in his hand and asked Li Kai.

Li Kaidao: "One thing is very strange."

Lu Gong hurriedly asked: "How do you say this?"

Li Kaidao: "The witness who read the contract said that he only read the contract and was unaware of the discussions between them. The key lies in Zeng's statement. According to Li Si's initial statement, Zeng should have been involved in it all the time, but When I asked her whether the initial agreement between them was to use her to repay the principal or to repay all the debts, Zeng said that she had no knowledge of it and it was all agreed between Li Si and Chen Yuteng."

Lu Gong said happily: "You mean, Mrs. Zeng and Chen Yuteng have had an affair for a long time?"

Li Kai nodded and said: "It's possible, but it's also possible that Mrs. Zeng empathized with Chen Yuteng after she married Chen Yuteng. It is still difficult to judge, and according to the law of intimacy between relatives, even if Mrs. Zeng made a false confession, we There is nothing you can do about her."

Concealment between relatives, in simple terms, is to cover up relatives, and generally cannot be considered a crime, unless it involves two crimes, first, the crime of treason.Second, the crime of mutual injury similar to domestic violence.

So Zeng, as Chen Yuteng's wife, of course she can refuse to provide any statement that is not good for Chen Yuteng, and you can't torture her to extract a confession.

Lu Gong frowned, and immediately turned over on the table.

Li Kaidao: "You don't need to look for it, Xiangfu County has never asked Zeng's at all, because usually, the yamen will only agree to the contract."

Lu Gong thought for a while, "If Mrs. Zeng had an affair with Chen Yuteng, why didn't Mrs. Zeng bite Li Si back? She is an important witness and she is protected by relatives."

Li Kaidao: "I have also considered this point, but just like Zhang San's argument in the classroom, although the compensation contract is in line with the rules, it is unreasonable. According to Li Si's situation at the time, it is impossible for him to only use his wife to compensate the principal. gold.

If Mrs. Zeng bites back, Zhang San will definitely not give up, and will definitely ask him to go to court. If we sympathize with Mrs. Zeng, we may even find out their adultery. Therefore, it is wisest for her to refuse our interrogation because she doesn't know. "

Lu Gong said: "But it is a clue after all. If their adultery can be found out, then the case will be much easier to handle."

If it can be found out, it is possible to bring the crime to justice while avoiding harming the innocent Li Si.

Li Kai sighed: "I have already sent someone to inquire. After two years, it is very difficult for us to find evidence that can prove that Zeng had an affair with Chen Yuteng beforehand, instead of empathizing with Chen Yuteng after marrying Chen Yuteng. of.

And most people in their village think that Mrs. Zeng and Li Si have a good relationship. When Li Si was sick, Mrs. Zeng always served by her side and never left her. She won the respect and praise of her neighbors. In this way, Li Si's confession is very beneficial to Zeng. "

Lu Gong couldn't help frowning: "Oh! This is difficult. If we want to sue Zeng for adultery with Chen Yuteng, then we must first find a way to regard Zeng as Li Si's wife, and then Only when Li Si first filed the complaint can we accept it."

According to Song Xingtong, if a wife commits adultery with another person, her husband must file a complaint. If the husband does not sue, the government will not accept the case and cannot forcefully intervene.

This regulation, on the one hand, is to protect the rights of the husband, and on the other hand, it is also to protect the privacy of the family.

Li Kai nodded and said: "That's right. Not to mention whether we can find a way to abolish the relationship between Zeng and Chen Yuteng, if we can't find conclusive evidence that Zeng and Chen Yuteng had an affair in advance, Li Si will definitely He won't agree, and now he still feels ashamed of the Zeng family and wants to protect the Zeng family."

Lu Gong wrote and sighed: "And the current situation in the court, I'm afraid it won't give us too much time to investigate this unfounded matter."

Li Kaidao: "If we procrastinate and refuse to close the case, some people will definitely think that we are covering up Chen Yuteng, after all Chen Yuteng is Wang Sinong's nephew."

Lu Gong wrote and asked: "In your opinion, how should the sentence be judged?"

Li Kaidao: "When I was interrogating Chen Yuteng, he proposed a reconciliation method."

Lu Gong wrote: "Reconciliation?"

Li Kaidao: "Chen Yuteng said that all of this is indeed his fault. He was too anxious to marry the Zeng family and miscalculated the date, so that such a big problem occurred. He is willing to admit his mistake and take out five hundred guan as I hope to get Li Si's understanding for the compensation. According to the confession in this case, if Li Si does not sue, all three of them will be innocent."

Chen Yuteng is not stupid, he can't say there is a problem with the contract, he can only say that there is a problem with himself.

Lu Gong said in surprise: "Five hundred guan?"

For civilians, this is definitely sky-high compensation.

Never happened before.

Li Kai nodded.

Lu Gong pondered for a while, and said, "What do you think?"

Li Kaidao: "I think this is the best solution. There have been many lawsuits before, and disputes were caused by miscalculation of numbers or dates. Although some of them are intentional, most of them follow the private agreement of the people and the officials. For ignoring it and not pursuing his criminal responsibility. I believe Chen Yuteng's attitude and the compensation he proposed are enough to convince the public. Even if he is sentenced to prison, it will only be two years. However, Li Si still has to sit with him. Two years in prison, it's not fair!"

Lu Gongzhu nodded slightly, he also agreed with this plan in his heart, he didn't want to convict Li Si in his heart, and hoped to get justice for Li Si, said: "But first we have to convince Wang Jiefu that he caused trouble in the court. Stopping is not an option."

Li Kaidao: "I still have to discuss it with Zhang San."

Lu Gong suddenly asked: "Do you think this is the result that Zhang San wanted?"

Li Kai said without hesitation: "It must be."

All fools know that if Li Si is really sent to jail, it will do a lot of harm to Zhang Fei but not any benefit.

Lu Gong closed his eyes and sighed: "He won again."

Of course, Lu Gongzhu did not go to Wang Anshi himself, because he was the chief judge, so why should he ask Wang Anshi for consent? After all, the emperor did not let Wang Anshi participate in the case this time.

But the case was obviously politicized, and he had to take political factors into consideration. He chose to communicate with Sima Guang first, and Sima Guang was also very supportive of this solution, so Sima Guang went to discuss with Wang Anshi again.

Now Sima Guang also has a headache when he sees Wang Anshi. After he said this, seeing Wang Anshi was silent, he said earnestly: "Jiefu, this is the best solution. First, Li Si will not only be exonerated, but also get a huge sum of money." Compensation, life worry-free for the rest of my life.

Secondly, this is enough to deter those rich and unkind big landlords, even better than sending Chen Yuteng to two years in jail, after all, some people value money more than life.

Isn't that what you want? "

Wang Anshi looked at Sima Guang, and after a while, he suddenly burst out laughing.

Sima Guang said angrily, "I'm talking about business with you, why are you laughing?"

Wang Anshi laughed and said: "I didn't say no. You are begging for mercy like this. Others don't know, and they think I am bullying you. I, Wang Jiefu, am not that Zhang San. How can I have such abilities."

"I bother!"

Sima Guang directly spit on Wang Anshi's face: "Well, you Wang Jiefu, you are really ungrateful and extremely hateful. You keep making troubles in the court, which makes everyone panic, and they don't have the heart to deal with government affairs. Thanks to you, you still have a smile .”

Wang Anshi touched his face with his sleeves, and said triumphantly: "If I don't make trouble, can Li Si get this compensation? As for you saying that people in the court are panicked, it is because they have ghosts in their hearts."

The more he talked, the more excited he became, and he pointed his hand outward, "Who is Chen Yuteng, don't I know? He can be an official by virtue of his kindness, but he chooses to go home and do business. The richest businessman in Fu County, does he rely on his own ability? Hmph, such people can be found everywhere in the court."

Sima Guang sighed, sat down, and said: "You are right, and I agree with it, but have you ever thought that this phenomenon is not unique to our court? If you don't want to understand this, then you can solve it." It's not about this."

Wang Anshi said resolutely: "I think very clearly. In my opinion, what is lacking is not means, but determination."

Kaifeng House.

"Is this the result you want?"

Li Kai looked at Zhang Fei with a half-smile.

Zhang Fei bowed his hands first, and then said: "Xiaomin hopes to reduce one hundred guan, and exchange Li Si back to the Zeng family."

These words undoubtedly confirmed Li Kai's conjecture, and said with a smile: "I'm afraid Mrs. Zeng won't want to go back with Li Si again."

Zhang Fei frowned and looked at Li Kai suspiciously.

Since the trial is still in progress, for the convenience of interrogation, Chen Yuteng, Li Si, and Zeng have not been imprisoned yet, but are only imprisoned in Kaifeng Mansion.

After all, everyone is an insider, and we don't look at the monk's face to see the Buddha's face.

"you are?"

"My name is Zhang Fei, and I was entrusted by Li Si to help him with the lawsuit."

"You are Zhang Fei?" A flash of anger flashed in Zeng's eyes, but immediately she covered her face and cried, "I have no grievances with you, why did you kill me? I am innocent."

Zhang Fei said: "Don't cry, I know you are innocent, and I am not trying to harm you, I am just helping you get back to Li Si's side."

"What did you say?"

Upon hearing the words, Mrs. Zeng stood up after a moment of rubbing.

Zhang Fei said seriously: "Now as long as you nod your head, you can return to Li Si's side."

After hearing this, Mrs. Zeng became even more flustered, her hands clenched tightly with no place to rest.

After waiting for a while, Zhang Fei asked, "Don't you want to?"

Zeng was startled, then choked up and said, "I've already married someone else, so why would I go back to him?"

Zhang Fei said: "But Li Si doesn't mind."

"But I don't mind." Zeng shook her head with tears in her eyes and said, "I really have no face to go back to him, I... I even have no face to live on."

After saying that, she suddenly stood up and slammed into the wall.

Seeing that she was about to hit the wall, Mrs. Zeng stopped suddenly, and looked back at Zhang Fei in amazement, only to see Zhang Fei was looking at her with a smile, and suddenly woke up with a look of shock on his face.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to fish and enforce the law, and I don't have the power. I'm just a little curious. You have already got your wish and married into the Chen family. Why do you still have to treat Li Si?" Kill them all, as far as I know, he is not bad to you, this night the husband and wife have been kind for a hundred days."

Zeng sat down and muttered to himself: "I am innocent, I am innocent."

"excuse me."

Zhang Fei nodded slightly, and then went out.

(End of this chapter)